AT LEAST 272 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED IN ECUADOR’S BIGGEST EARTHQUAKE IN DECADES AS A 7.8 MAGNITUDE QUAKE STRUCK OFF THE PACIFIC COAST ON SATURDAY AND WAS FELT AROUND THE ANDEAN NATION OF 16 MILLION PEOPLE, CAUSING PANIC AS FAR AWAY AS THE HIGHLAND CAPITAL QUITO.
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:7 (KJV)
Vice President Jorge Glas said as well as leaving hundreds dead, more than 2,500 people were injured. The latest quake follows devastating tremors in Japan late last week when one, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, injured more than 1,000 trapping people in collapsed buildings only a day after a quake killed nine people in the same region.
Rescue crews searched for survivors of a magnitude 7.3 earthquake that struck Japan’s Kyushu Island, the same region rattled by a 6.2 quake two days earlier.
AROUND 20,000 TROOPS HAVE HAD TO BE DEPLOYED FOLLOWING THE LATEST 7.3 EARTHQUAKE AT 1.25AM LOCAL TIME ON SATURDAY.
Roads have also been damaged and big landslides have been reported, there are also 200,000 households without power. The death toll in the latest Kyushu earthquake is 16 people and a previous earthquake that struck the area on Thursday had killed nine people.
7 MAJOR EARTHQUAKES IN PAST WEEK: VANUATU, INDONESIA AND YELLOWSTONE DECEPTION
There have been other large earthquakes recorded in recent days, including a major one in southern Japan which destroyed buildings and left at least 45 people injured, after Myanmar was rocked on Wednesday.
Tremors were also felt as far as 500 miles away at the national park in India where the Royal couple Kate and William were visiting.
JAPAN’S FIRE AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT AGENCY SAID 7,262 PEOPLE HAVE SOUGHT SHELTER AT 375 CENTERS SINCE FRIDAY IN KUMAMOTO PREFECTURE.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe vowed to do everything he could to save lives following the disaster. He said: “Nothing is more important than human life and it’s a race against time.”
On Thursday, The Japanese Red Cross Kumamoto Hospital confirmed 45 were injured, including five with serious injuries after a quake of magnitude 6.2 to 6.5 and a series of strong aftershocks ripped through Kumamoto city.
Several buildings were damaged or destroyed and at least six people are believed to be trapped under homes in Mashiki. Local reports said one woman was rescued in a critical condition. Scientists say there has been an above average number of significant earthquakes across south Asia and the Pacific since the start of the year.
THE INCREASED FREQUENCY HAS SPARKED FEARS OF A REPEAT OF THE NEPAL QUAKE OF 2015, WHERE 8,000 PEOPLE DIED, OR EVEN WORSE.
Roger Bilham, seismologist of University of Colorado, said: “The current conditions might trigger at least four earthquakes greater than 8.0 in magnitude.
“And if they delay, the strain accumulated during the centuries provokes more catastrophic mega earthquakes.”
TONGA SUFFERED A 6.1 MAGNITUDE TREMOR.
Thursday’s quake in Japan was followed by a 5.9-magnitude earthquake which struck off the coast of the southern Philippines.
The earthquake happened at 2.20am (Singapore time) off Mindanao island. source
“This is what will happen in that day: When Gog attacks the land of Israel, my hot anger will be aroused, declares the Sovereign LORD. In my zeal and fiery wrath I declare that at that time there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the beasts of the field, every creature that moves along the ground, and all the people on the face of the earth will tremble at my presence. The mountains will be overturned, the cliffs will crumble and every wall will fall to the ground.” (Ezekiel 38:18-20)
